Home made Grapple

[maltpj]

Hello Guys,
I've been reading this Forum for about a year and I really enjoy all your good
ideas and great tips! Anyhow I bought 10.5 acres down here in Florida and decided to upgrade to a bigger tractor (had a Yanmar 1500d / FEL ) but I was afraid I was going to break it clearing the land. At first I was going to try to find a used 4wd 30-40 Hp tractor but the Wife said "Why don't you just get a new one" I didn't argue with her! I ended up getting a John Deere 5105 4WD with a 522 FEL. With all the Grapple post and pictures I've seen here I just knew I had to have one! I knew how handy that would be at the property for moving brush and though it would be perfect for ripping up them darn Palmetto bushes. At first I was going to buy one and checked out several different brands. Then I decide to build one and incorporate the things I liked form the one's I looked at into mine. It took me about a month from start to finish, and I scrounged most of the metal. Had to buy the hydraulic ram and hoses and welding rod. Got about $200 and my time in it.

I just got registered so I could share some pictures.

 

[Ryan03]

very nice, I bet you now wonder how you ever got along without one

 

[davidseaquist]

Wow great job! Welcome David

 

[MJPetersen]

That is a great mean looking grapple bucket that you have there. I bet that will give those palmettos a thorough thrashing. And leave the sand where it belongs. Good Job. In fact you ought to show us what you do with that.

Mike

 

[SkunkWerX]

Excellent job all the way around!!
I like the angled gussets at the front, between each digging tip, looks very strong.

nice work.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

Best homemade grapple I've seen yet on TBN. Would you mind sharing the details on fabrication with us?

Matt T.

 

[bones1]

Welcome.You seem to be a darn good fabricator.What did you cut the plate with, torch or plasma cutter.Good job.

 

[Willl]

Maltpj, welcome to TBN.

Nice job on the grapple.
How 'bout a pic QC's on the back side.
Did you fab your own QC clips or buy them for JD ?
How is it valved up ?

 

[maltpj]

Hello again,
Thanks for the thumbs up on my fab job!

The whole Grapple was built with hard boiler plate except for the 3”x 3” square tube the frame was built with. The tines are 3/8”x 3 1/2” boiler stock which I cut on a horizontal band saw at work. The ends are ½” thick which I cut with a torch from plate and then ground the torch cuts with a 4” hand grinder. The sides and front of the thumb I rough cut with a torch out of ½” plate and cut the teeth with a Porta-band saw.

I cut 1 1/8” holes in the front of all the tines with a hole saw and used 1” solid round stock and gussets for extra support.

I wish I would have taken pictures while I built it.

I bought the mounting hooks and pins form John Deere and bent some 3/8” plate to beef them up a little. I also had to cut some 1” plates to put under the hook so they would fit the FEL shoes correctly.

For the hydraulics I just ran hoses to the rear remotes and use the rear remote control for open and close.

 

[Kubotasrking]

I just got registered so I could share some pictures

Very nice.

I bought mine...and now I'm gonna have to weld on those gussets. I bend teeth from time to time.

Great work, I wish I were as capable.

 

[Grizz]

very nice job

 

[frank_f15]

WELCOME TO TBN!!! Very nice job on the build. Way out of my league. don't be a stranger and keep the pics comming. think you might be able to size the photos a little smaller for us that have dial up?

 

[3RRL]

Yeah, welcome to TBN.
That is a great job making that grapple from scratch. It is one of the best I've seen. Looks extremely tough and heavy duty.
What a great investment for $200 bucks. You saved a ton of money building it yourself. Now you'll save a ton of time and effort in your clearing jobs too.
Great work and thanks for sharing.

 

[millwrightdude]

Maltpj, How long did you make the tines?

 

[Don87]

Maltpj, How long did you make the tines?

Don't be surprised if you don't get a responce. The thread is over 3 years old, and he last signed in here on March 19th of this year.

 

[millwrightdude]

Yea, I saw that before I posted. I'm getting ready to build one and wanted to know how long his tines are

 

[millwrightdude]

The guys that have grapples, how long are the tines and how thick are they. I'm wanting to order the material next week so I can have a winter project.

 

[easygo]

Try to send him a private message. That will automatically generate a notification that is sent to his e-mail address. He might respond.

 

[millwrightdude]

I sent him one but have not heard anything back. I would like to know how long do most people make the tine's when they build theirs?

 

[jcims]

I sent him one but have not heard anything back. I would like to know how long do most people make the tine's when they build theirs?

Attached is a pic of a Gator grapple with a reference you can use to measure whatever you like. After using skid steer grapples that are basically buckets with pinchers, this thing seems to have a HUGE capacity and a HUGE 'bite', which is perfect for what i'm using it for...moving brush, tree limbs/logs/etc. I will say that my attempts at grubbing roots with it have been mediocre, due to a combination of inexperience on my part and what i'm assuming is a loss of leverage due to the length of the tines. However, given my primary use, they are a great length.

Mind your cylinder attachment points as well, the Gator grapples open very wide, yet still seem to have lots of pressure available when they are closed. I think this is partially due to how high the rear point is, but i haven't really sat down to try to figure it out.